The United Nations urged Israel to rescind its call for 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza to relocate to the south of the territory within 24 hours, amid massive bombardments in retaliation for Hamas's attacks.

"The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences," Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, said on Thursday.

He said that the UN "strongly appeals for any such order, if confirmed, to be rescinded avoiding what could transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation".

Israel's army said it has called for all Gaza City residents to evacuate their homes and head south of the territory "for their safety".

Dujarric said the army's evacuation order applies to all UN staff and those sheltering in UN facilities – including schools, health centres and clinics.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees is sheltering more than 60 percent of the 423,000 people displaced in recent days in the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Friday that the cause of the Israel-Hamas conflict was "historical injustice" against Palestinians, as he met with the EU's foreign policy chief in Beijing.

"The root of this problem lies in the long delay in the realisation of Palestine's aspiration to establish an independent state, and in the fact that the historical injustice suffered by the Palestinian people has not been corrected," Wang said after holding a meeting with Josep Borrell.

Hamas gunmen swept into small Israeli towns, kibbutzim and a music festival, killing more than 1,200 people and taking about 150 hostages on October 7.

In retaliation, Israel has rained air and artillery strikes on Gaza – a densely populated enclave of 2.3 million people – flattening buildings and killing more than 1,400 people, many of them civilians. (AFP)
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Last updated: 2023-10-13 HKT 21:43